1. Have They Had Too Little Preparation?

In what is something of a curtailed tour of South Africa, India scheduled just one two-day game against a South African Invitational XI as preparation for the Test series.

However, due to the enormous level of rainfall in Benoni, where the match was to be held, the ground staff had little option but to abandon the game without a ball being bowled.

This leaves the question of whether India will be at all prepared for playing multi-day cricket again after their three-match One Day International series.

Two ODIs with another abandoned due to rain does not seem like sufficient preparation for the intensity of Test cricket, so the Indians may find themselves unable to compete with the Proteas on home soil.

2. Have They Played Enough Test Cricket?

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This year India have played just two Test series for a total of six matches, all of which were at home.

While they won all six—against the West Indies in November and against Australia in February and March—it does raise questions about whether they have spent enough time playing red-ball cricket before this series against the best side in the world.

Couple this with the fact that they have lost eight consecutive away Test matches, the signs are not good for good Indian performances in the upcoming series.

Never known for being particularly good tourists, there must be a concern that they have not spent enough time playing five-day cricket to be truly ready for the biggest Tests of the year.